Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Kurt Weil, Ute Lemper, .......and Deaths In Iraq

Rainy morning in April. The weather forecast turned out to be right. Woke up to sound of rain.

Don't know why I pulled out an old cassette of Kurt Weil's music. But Ute Lemper is a pleasure to listen to. Others have recorded Weil's songs -- I know of Lotte Lenya and Marianne Faithful. They are good; not as good as Ute Lemper.

Kurt Weil did not write about the war in Iraq but "Oh show me the way to the next whiskey bar/ oh don't ask why/ oh don't ask why/ for we must find the next whiskey bar/ for if we don't find the next whiskey bar/ I tell you we must die..." made me think of the soldiers dying there.. The wounded don't receive much publicity ; 45dead so far in this cruel month of April. Among them 20-year old David N. Simmons, 20, Army Private 1st Class, of Kokomo,Indiana. The deaths have no effect whatsoever on Bush and Cheney. John McCain has decided that his success in the 2008 presidential election lies in being an out and out supporter of the war. Then there is Joseph Lieberman. Do they sleep well at night?

It was inevitable. The billons of dollars being spent to continue the president's pet war are beginning to impact local and State government programs which depend on Federal aid. "DENVER — The cost of the Iraq war is filtering down to state and local budgets, forcing cuts in transportation funding, Medicaid, education and other federally subsidized programs, according to analysts and lawmakers."

Just how big that impact has been is unclear. What state lawmakers do say is that the $456 billion already spent or appropriated for the war could have gone a long way toward helping them balance their own budgets.

In Colorado, lawmakers expect to lose about $200 million in federal funding for the next fiscal year, forcing the state to cut back on programs that receive federal money.

“These are funds that we aren’t going to receive. Low Energy Assistance Program, $9.8 million, gone. Head Start, $3.7 million, gone. Child Care and Development Block Grant, $1.1 million. Community Development Block Grant, $13.5 million. Special Ed, $8.8 million,” House Majority Leader Alice Madden, D-Boulder, said during a debate Thursday over a state resolution opposing the escalation of the war in Iraq.

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According to the Colorado Municipal League, Bush’s proposed 2008 budget includes only a 1 percent increase in nonmilitary and homeland security programs.

The league said the budget proposal cuts Community Development Block Grants nationwide by $735 million, education by $1.5 billion, the Individuals with Disabilities Education act by $291 million, and $107 million from Head Start. Social Services block grants would be cut nearly in half to $1.2 billion, and Low Income Heating and Energy Assistance would see a $400 million cut.

The league said funding for the Department of Homeland Security would be slashed, including a 63 percent cut for training and exercises, while federal assistance to state and local law enforcement would be cut by more than half. The Clean Water State Revolving Fund would be cut $312 million over the previous year.

Sen. Moe Keller, D-Wheat Ridge, said 24 hospitals in Colorado risk losing federal funding after Bush issued an executive order changing the definition of public hospitals to reduce Medicaid spending, cutting $128 million in federal aid that could force a major hospital in Denver to close. The Colorado Legislature is debating a resolution asking Bush to restore that funding.

Keller said the state also is losing about $48 million in federal funds for transportation, money the state was promised.

She said the cost of the war is trickling down to local governments, with cuts to federal funding for homeland security.

“We’re bearing the brunt of the federal cuts. There’s no other reason than the war,” Keller said.

Hey, you should check out Ute Lemper's new album Between Yesterday and Tomorrow . It has a lot of political "imagery" and is great listening. Also you may want to check out Ute's YouTube Channel for video clips (posted every other day).